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<h1>Making Requests</h1>

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<div class="outline">
<!-- outline menu -->
<center><span class="summary">Outline</span></center>
<ol>
<li><a href="#part1">Politely (and not so politely) making requests</a></li>
<li><a href="#part2">「～<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」－ a special conjugation of 「<span title="くださる - to give (hon)" class="popup">くださる</span>」</a></li>
<li><a href="#part3">Using 「～<span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span>」 as a casual request</a></li>
<li><a href="#part4">Using 「～<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 to make firm but polite requests</a></li>
<li><a href="#part5">The Command Form</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
</td></tr>
</table>

<h2 id="part1">Politely (and not so politely) making requests</h2>
Similar to asking for favors, which we learned in the last lesson, there are also various ways to make requests in Japanese.  This is effectively
the Japanese way of saying, "please do X".  We'll first learn the most common way to make requests using a special conjugation of the verb 「<span title="くださる - (hon) to give" class="popup">くださる</span>」
and the firmer 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさる</span>」.  Finally, we'll learn the rarely used excessively strong
command form for the sake of completeness.  You can safely skip the last part unless you're an avid reader of manga.

<h2 id="part2">「～<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」－ a special conjugation of 「<span title="くださる - (hon) to give" class="popup">くださる</span>」</h2>
「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 is a special conjugation of 「<span title="くださる - (hon) to give" class="popup">くださる</span>」,
which is the honorific form of 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」.  We will learn more about <a href="honorhum.html">honorific and humble</a> forms
in the beginning of the next major section.  We are going over 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 here because it has a
slight difference in meaning from the normal
「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 and the honorific 「<span title="くださる - (hon) to give" class="popup">くださる</span>」.
 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 is different from 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 in the following fashion:
<p>（１）　<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>を<em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span></em>。- Please give me that.
<br />（２）　<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>を<em><span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span></em>？- Can you give me that?
<br />As you can see 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 is a direct request for something while 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 is used as a question asking for someone to give something.  However, it
is similar to 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 in that you can make a request for an action by simply attaching it to the <a href="compound.html#part3">te-form</a> of the verb.
<br />（１）　<span title="かんじ - kanji " class="popup">漢字</span>で<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いて</span></em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。- Please write it in kanji.
<br />（２）　<span title="ゆっくり - slowly" class="popup">ゆっくり</span><em><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話して</span></em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。- Please speak slowly.
</p>

<p>The rules for negative requests are same as the rules for 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 as well.
<br />（１）　<span title="らくがき - scribble, graffiti" class="popup">落書き</span>を<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書かない</span>で</em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。- Please don't write graffiti.
<br />（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<em><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こないで</span></em><span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>。- Please don't come here.
</p>

<p>In casual speech, it is often common to simply drop the 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 part.
<br /><span title="にほんご - Japanese Language" class="popup">日本語</span>で<em><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話して</span></em>。- Please speak in Japanese.
<br /><span title="けしゴム - eraser" class="popup">消しゴム</span>を<em><span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span></em>。- Please lend me the eraser.
<br /><span title="とおい - far" class="popup">遠い</span><span title="ところ - place" class="popup">所</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>で</em>。- Please don't go to a far place.
</p>

<p>For those who want to sound particularly commanding and manly, it is also possible to use 「<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれる</span>」 with the 「る」 removed.
<br /><span title="にほんご - Japanese Language" class="popup">日本語</span>で<em><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話して</span><span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれ</span></em>。- Speak in Japanese.
<br /><span title="けしゴム - eraser" class="popup">消しゴム</span>を<em><span title="かす - lend" class="popup">貸して</span><span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれ</span></em>。- Lend me the eraser.
<br /><span title="とおい - far" class="popup">遠い</span><span title="ところ - place" class="popup">所</span>に<em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行かない</span>で<span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれ</span></em>。- Don't go to a far place.
</p>

<p>Because 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 like the masu-form must always come at the end sentence or a
subordinate clause, you cannot use it to directly modify a noun.  For example, the following is not possible with
「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」.
<br />（１）　<span title="おとうさん - father" class="popup">お父さん</span>が<em><span title="くれる - to give " class="popup">くれた</span></em><span title="とけい - clock" class="popup">時計</span>が<span title="こわれる - to become broken" class="popup">壊れた</span>。- The clock that father gave broke.
</p>

<p>Of course, since direct quotes is merely repeating something someone said in verbatim, you can put practically anything in a direct quote.
<br />（１）　「<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>を<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」<em>と</em><span title="おとうさん - father" class="popup">お父さん</span>が<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言った</span>。- Father said, "Please give me that."
</p>

<h2 id="part3">Using 「～<span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span>」 as a casual request</h2>
A casual alternative of 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」 used usually by females is 「<span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span>」.  It is always written in hiragana.  Written in kanji, it is usually
used in a very formal expression such as 「<span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">頂戴</span><span title="いたす - to do (hum)" class="popup">致します</span>」.  There's not much more to say here because grammatically; it works the same
way as 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」.

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="スプーン - sppon" class="popup">スプーン</span>を<em><span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span></em>。- Please give me the spoon.
<br />（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<span title="なまえ - name" class="popup">名前</span>を<em><span title="かく - to write" class="popup">書いて</span><span title="ちょうだい - accept, receive (hon)" class="popup">ちょうだい</span></em>。- Please write your name here.

<h2 id="part4">Using 「～<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 to make firm but polite requests</h2>
「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 is a special honorific conjugation like 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」.  It is a soft yet firm way of issuing a command.  It is used, for example,
when a mother is scolding her child or when a teacher wants a delinquent student to pay attention.
Unlike 「<span title="ください - please give, please do" class="popup">ください</span>」, 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」
only applies to positive verbs and uses the <a href="polite.html#part2">stem</a> of the verb instead of the te-form. It also cannot be used by itself
but must be attached to another verb.

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 to make firm but polite requests</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Conjugate the verb to its <a href="polite.html#part2">stem</a> and attach 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」</li>
<li>例）　<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em><strike>る</strike></em></span> → <span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ</span><em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em><strike>む</strike></em></span> → <span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>み</em></span> → <span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲み</span><em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span></em></li>
<li>例）　<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span> → <em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し</span></em> → <span title="する - to do" class="popup">し</span><em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span></em></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="いい - good" class="popup">よく</span><em><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞き</span></em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>！- Listen well!
<br />（２）　<span title="ここ - here" class="popup">ここ</span>に<em><span title="すわる - to sit" class="popup">座り</span></em><span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>。- Sit here.


<p>You can also drop 「さい」 portion of the 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 to make a casual version of this grammar.
<br />（１）　<span title="まだ - yet" class="popup">まだ</span><span title="いっぱい - full, a lot" class="popup">いっぱい</span><span title="ある - to exist (inanimate)" class="popup">ある</span>から、<span title="たくさん - a lot" class="popup">たくさん</span><em><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べな</span></em>。- There's still a lot, so eat a lot.
<br />（２）　<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>で<span title="いい - good" class="popup">いい</span>と<span title="おもう - to think" class="popup">思う</span>なら、<span title="そう - like that" class="popup">そう</span><em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">し</span>な</em>よ。 - If you think that's fine, then go ahead and do it.
</p>

<h2 id="part5">The Command Form</h2>
We will go over the command form in the interest of covering all the possible verb conjugations.  In reality, the command form is rarely
used as Japanese people tend to be too polite to use imperatives.  Also, this course type of speech is rarely, if indeed at all,
used by females who tend to use 「<span title="なさる - to do (hon)" class="popup">なさい</span>」 or an exasperated 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 when angry or irritated.
This form is only really useful for reading comic books or watching
movies.  You may often see or hear  「<span title="しぬ - die " class="popup">死ね</span>！」 ("Die!") in movies or manga which, of course, you'll never hear in real life. (I hope!)

<p>
Be sure to note that, in addition to the familiar  「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」, 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 exception verbs, 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 is also an exception for the command form.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Rules for creating command form</span>
<ul>
<li>ru-verbs - Replace the 「る」 with 「ろ」</li>
<li>u-verbs - Change the last character from an / u / vowel to an / e / vowel</li>
<li>Exceptions - 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」 becomes 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しろ</span>」,
「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こい</span>」,
「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span>」 becomes 「<span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれ</span>」</li>
</ul>
</div>

<p />
<table align="center" border="0">
<tr>
<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample ru-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Command</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べ<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="きる - to wear" class="popup">着<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="しんじる - to believe" class="popup">信じ<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="ねる - to sleep" class="popup">寝<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="おきる - to get up" class="popup">起き<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="でる - to come out" class="popup">出<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="かける - to hang" class="popup">掛け<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="すてる - to throw away" class="popup">捨て<em>ろ</em></span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>


<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>

<td>
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Sample u-verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Command</th>
<th>ローマ字</th><th>ローマ字 (Com)</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>す</em></span></td><td><span title="はなす - to speak" class="popup">話<em>せ</em></span></td>
<td>hanas<em>u</em></td><td>hanas<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞<em>く</em></span></td><td><span title="きく - to ask, to hear" class="popup">聞<em>け</em></span></td>
<td>kik<em>u</em></td><td>kik<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>ぶ</em></span></td><td><span title="あそぶ - to play" class="popup">遊<em>べ</em></span></td>
<td>asob<em>u</em></td><td>asob<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>つ</em></span></td><td><span title="まつ - to wait" class="popup">待<em>て</em></span></td>
<td>mat<em>u</em></td><td>mat<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>む</em></span></td><td><span title="のむ - to drink" class="popup">飲<em>め</em></span></td>
<td>nom<em>u</em></td><td>nom<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>る</em></span></td><td><span title="なおる - to be fixed" class="popup">直<em>れ</em></span></td>
<td>naor<em>u</em></td><td>naor<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="しぬ - die " class="popup">死<em>ぬ</em></span></td><td><span title="しぬ - die " class="popup">死<em>ね</em></span></td>
<td>shin<em>u</em></td><td>shin<em>e</em></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="かう - to buy " class="popup">買<em>う</em></span></td><td><span title="かう - to buy " class="popup">買<em>え</em></span></td>
<td>ka<em>u</em></td><td>ka<em>e</em></td></tr>

</table>
</td>

<td rowspan="2">
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</td>


<td valign="top">
<table border="1" cellpadding="5">
<caption>Exception Verbs</caption>
<tr align="center"><th>Plain</th><th>Command</th></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span></td><td><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しろ</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">くる</span></td><td><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">こい</span></td></tr>

<tr align="center"><td><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれる</span></td><td><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれ</span></td></tr>

</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="すき - like" class="popup">好き</span>に<em><span title="する - to do" class="popup">しろ</span></em>。- Do as you please.
<br />（２）　<span title="あっち - that way" class="popup">あっち</span><em><span title="いく - to go" class="popup">行け</span></em>！- Go away!
<br />（３）　<span title="はやい - fast, early" class="popup">早く</span><span title="さけ - alcohol" class="popup">酒</span>を<span title="もつ - to hold" class="popup">持って</span><span title="くる - to come" class="popup">きて</span><em><span title="くれる - to give" class="popup">くれ</span></em>。- Hurry up and bring me some alcohol.

<p>
The negative command form is very simple: simply attach 「な」 to either ru-verbs or u-verbs.  Don't confuse this with the 「な」 gobi we will
be learning at the end of this section. The intonation is totally different.
</p>

<div class="sumbox">
<span class="summary">Using the negative command form</span>
<ul class="plain">
<li>Attach 「な」 to the verb.</li>
<li>例）　行く → 行く<em>な</em></li>
<li>例）　する → する<em>な</em></li>
</ul>
</div>


<h3>Examples</h3>
（１）　<span title="それ - that " class="popup">それ</span>を<span title="たべる - to eat" class="popup">食べる</span><em>な</em>！- Don't eat that!
<br />（２）　<span title="へん - strange" class="popup">変</span>な<span title="こと - event, matter" class="popup">こと</span>を<span title="いう - to say" class="popup">言う</span><em>な</em>！- Don't say such weird things!

<p>This is not to be confused with the shortened version of 「～なさい」 we just learned in the <a href="requests.html#part4">last section</a>. The most obvious
difference (besides the clear difference in tone) is that in 「～なさい」, the verb is first converted to the stem while the negative command has no conjugation.
For example, for 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>」, 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しな</span>」 would be the short version of
「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">しなさい</span>」 while 「<span title="する - to do" class="popup">する</span>な」 would be a negative command.
</p>

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   <permits rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Reproduction" />
   <permits rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Distribution" />
   <requires rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Notice" />
   <requires rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/Attribution" />
   <prohibits rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/CommercialUse" />
   <permits rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/DerivativeWorks" />
   <requires rdf:resource="http://web.resource.org/cc/ShareAlike" />
</License>

</rdf:RDF>

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<p class="copyright">Copyright &copy; 2003-2007 Tae Kim (taekim.japanese AT gmail.com)</p>
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<a href="http://www.guidetojapanese.org/forum/viewforum.php?id=18">Report a correction or suggestion for this page</a>
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<div class="small" style="text-align:right;"><pre>This page has last been revised on 2005/9/21
Added くれ exception for command form. (2005/9/21)
</pre></div>

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